For those who began watching Riverdale and rapidly turned a fan, anticipating a noir-tinged teen thriller with mysteries worthy of newbie detective, you might need been stunned (or fully misplaced) because the episodes aired. What started as a drama in regards to the homicide of Jason Blossom quickly shifted focus to parallel realities, secret cults, random musicals, and even superpowers. Sure, all of that occurred – and it’s not an exaggeration. Over seven seasons, the present turned identified not for what it was initially meant to be, however for pushing the boundaries of logic, mixing genres, and continually reinventing its characters. In a single second, every little thing appeared simple, and within the subsequent, it changed into full nonsense.

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However with so many twists and turns, some episodes actually stood out as essentially the most weird, bizarre, and generally simply inexplicable. Right here’s an inventory of seven of Riverdale‘s many surreal moments, and earlier than you begin questioning your personal sanity or questioning if this actually aired, sure, it did.

“Chapter Thirty-One: A Evening to Keep in mind” (Season 2, Episode 18)

Riverdale has had a convention of musical episodes – which is already weird sufficient, contemplating the present’s authentic premise introduced within the first episodes. This all started in Season 2, when a whole chapter was devoted to adapting Carrie: The Musical, based mostly on Stephen King’s work. The scholars of Riverdale Excessive placed on the theatrical manufacturing, and as they rehearse, private tensions and a few secrets and techniques come to the floor, reflecting the darkish themes of the play itself. The episode culminates in tragedy when Midge Klump is murdered, and her physique is displayed on stage in the course of the efficiency, surprising everybody.

Whereas the dying itself isn’t that removed from what we’ve come to anticipate from the present, seeing all these characters unexpectedly burst into tune all through the episode is simply too stunning. It looks like one large collective outburst, and to melt the impression, we virtually want it had been only a dream of one of them. Sadly, it wasn’t.

[RELATED: Riverdale Cast Compares Show’s “Absurdity” to the MCU]

“Chapter Thirty-Seven: Fortune and Males’s Eyes” (Season 3, Episode 2)

Season 3 is principally the start of what Riverdale would begin to change into, virtually like a preparation for the viewers. This episode has Betty and Jughead investigating the thriller of the Gargoyle King, uncovering connections to the sport “Griffins & Gargoyles.” Nonetheless, it additionally marks the beginning of Archie’s imprisonment after being wrongfully convicted of a criminal offense he didn’t commit. Contained in the juvenile detention middle, he finds himself caught between rival factions. And it’s on this arc that issues get actually bizarre, as a result of the sequence goes all in by placing on an American soccer match between the inmates, with Veronica, Cheryl, and the Vixens displaying up dressed as cheerleaders, able to sing and dance to Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock.”

It would even be comprehensible, since at that time Veronica is Archie’s girlfriend and desires to see him, however what’s the purpose of dancing and singing for the inmates? It’s not even a scene that matches into the rest; it’s merely dropped in out of nowhere, simply to carry the prisoners’ spirits. The authorities don’t even step in. The more than likely rationalization? Yet one more eccentric musical quantity – this time, one which’s pressured and fully disconnected from the narrative.

“Chapter Eighty-Three: Hearth within the Sky” (Season 5, Episode 7)

The final three seasons of Riverdale have been filled with weird and offbeat parts, and right here, it’s all in regards to the present’s style. In the beginning, you thought every little thing was a thriller, however by this level, you notice that even the tone goes to start out shifting (virtually as if the creator received drained of the unique premise). In a single of the episodes of Season 5, Archie decides to reopen Riverdale’s volunteer hearth division, Veronica begins drawing up a plan to assist the city’s native companies, and Jughead and Tabitha begin investigating an previous thriller involving UFO sightings and concrete legends, amongst different issues.

Immediately, extra practical themes like homicide and adolescence take a again seat, making manner for a state of affairs the place conspiracy theories and the supernatural take middle stage. From right here on out, it’s clear that something can occur, and nothing appears off-limits. Plus, this specific episode is a multitude, with a number of plots unfolding directly and a ton of info being thrown on the viewers: the economic system, a serial killer, mysterious creatures, a dance competitors, and volunteer firefighters. Nothing appears to make sense.

“Chapter One Hundred and One: Unbelievable” (Season 6, Episode 6)

Maybe that is the place it began to unravel. Up till that time, Riverdale had some fairly loopy episodes, however they nonetheless managed to maintain some folks watching with a glimmer of hope. Nonetheless, as soon as the characters begin gaining superpowers, it’s arduous to imagine {that a} sequence impressed by Twin Peaks has fully misplaced its manner. On this episode, after an explosion at Archie’s home, the characters start growing supernatural skills like tremendous power, pyrokinesis, and mind-reading, to call a couple of. Not solely that, even Archie’s canine manifests a therapeutic issue just like Wolverine’s.

The introduction of superpowers turns the sequence from a teen drama right into a sci-fi/supernatural present within the blink of an eye fixed. The transition is abrupt and fails to be convincingly woven into the story. The random attribution of particular powers to every character, with none stable rationalization, cranks the surrealism as much as a degree that makes it not possible for even essentially the most loyal fan to disregard the absurdity and never voice their frustration with the manufacturing.

“Chapter One Hundred and Three: The City” (Season 6, Episode 18)

In Season 6, we are able to’t neglect the villain Percival Pickens, who did maybe the one factor Riverdale hadn’t tackled up till then: he solid plagues in town. On this episode, there’s an invasion of frogs, clouds of lice, flies, and virtually biblical occasions. Not surprisingly, many characters die – which isn’t all that surprising anymore, if that’s what the present was going for. What does go away an impression is the truth that they’re resurrected by Sabrina Spellman, who brings them again to life and sends them to an alternate dimension the place they stay an afterlife with out even realizing it. However apart from that, within the grand scheme of issues, everybody appears to simply accept that Riverdale is just going by the top occasions. It’s a state of affairs of destruction and hopelessness, virtually like Apocalypse Now for teen audiences.

To be extra particular, the plagues are immediately impressed by the plagues of Egypt, solely set in suburban America. The villain is principally a warlock, and the city is present process a supernatural collapse, however essentially the most weird half is that the characters proceed to fret about their college routines and relationships. At this level, the sequence looks like fanfiction on a finances. If Riverdale was darkish and practical, now it’s a biblical cleaning soap opera with younger folks in leather-based jackets.

“Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen: Evening of the Comet” (Season 6, Episode 22)

At this level, with the characters conscious of their superpowers and the truth that every little thing is a parallel actuality, one thing occurs: a comet known as Bailey’s Comet. Since Riverdale misplaced all sense of coherence by Season 6, how can the city be saved from destruction? Everybody transfers their powers to Cheryl by a ritual involving a magic dagger and a kiss. She then makes use of the mixed powers, and in consequence, the timeline is reset, inflicting the characters to get up in 1955, however with solely Jughead remembering the earlier occasions. Fantasy? Sure. Sci-fi? Additionally.

That is one of essentially the most absurd episodes, and it would even elevate the bar for absurdity. It’s not that this type of story doesn’t have potential, it’s simply that it got here out of nowhere, with none regard for the unique objective of the sequence. If earlier than, the present had been heading towards a extra uncommon plot, right here, it felt just like the writers simply barged in with each toes within the door. It’s narrative maximalism, and never in a great way. At this level, Riverdale has changed into a pop mythology the place something can occur – and, of course, it does.

“Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven: Goodbye, Riverdale” (Season 7, Episode 20)

After every little thing, the ending of Riverdale couldn’t presumably be primary. The final episode exhibits Betty at 86, reflecting on her life and the fates of her associates. She’s the final survivor of the unique group. Then, earlier than she passes away, a model of Jughead seems and gives her the prospect to relive her final day of highschool – a day she missed attributable to sickness. Betty accepts, and alongside him, she relives that big day. The thought is a robust metaphor for remorse and the need to proper wrongs. However the execution of this idea, in a sequence that has already ventured into the supernatural and surreal, feels just like the icing on the cake of bizarreness.

The present closes after having gone from 0 to 100 too rapidly. The endings are unconventional, with no couple ending up collectively, regardless of numerous exchanges with everybody having had a relationship sooner or later. Additionally, Cheryl and Toni have fates that transcend what was anticipated, residing as artists and activists within the West, for instance. Finally, once you attain the top of all of it, it doesn’t come as a shock – in any case, the viewer has already gotten used to the route Riverdale took. Nonetheless, if you happen to strive to take a look at it from one other angle, it’s the sort of sequence you’ll by no means actually perceive, irrespective of how a lot time passes.

Riverdale is out there to stream on Netflix.